The Milwaukee Bucks bested the Indiana Pacers 117-98 at the Fiserv Forum Thursday night.
A third quarter surge by the Bucks helped put the game away. Giannis Antetokounmpo had yet another double-double and a team high of 29 points. It was a great win for the Bucks against a possible playoff opponent.
I’ve attended my fair share of Bucks games over the years and a couple this season, but this was the first time I had seen the game as a member of the press.
It was a typical start. I walked in, they checked my bags, I walked through a metal detector, and they made sure I was on the list for a press pass. I’ve worked at Miller Park in the past so that wasn’t anything unusual to me.
As I entered the media room, I heard the voices of the Bucks: Jim Paschke and Ted Davis. I’ve been watching Paschke and listening to Davis call Bucks games for years. It was certainly a new experience to be one table away from them as they talked about the upcoming game.
One thing I told myself on the way to the Fiserv was to check my fandom at the door. I’m here to observe a game and report on it. It wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do, being my first time as a press member. My first real test was when two-time NBA champion and six-time NBA All Star Pau Gasol just casually walked by me.
When I made my way into the conference room and sat down, people noticed me. There’s a sense that there’s a routine. That there’s certain reporters and members of the media that show up and everyone knows who everyone else is, and I was not one of those people. I didn’t let it bother me. I was there to do a job.
After Coach Budenholzer answered questions, I proceeded to my seat designated for press members.
The game was an impressive win for the Bucks. Although the Pacers lost their best player in Victor Oladipo, they’ve been playing well enough to hold the third seed in the Eastern Conference as of right now. During the third quarter Antetokounmpo was allotted a technical foul and that sparked a 13-0 run by the Bucks. Late in the fourth quarter the Pacers went on a 5-0 run after Antetokounmpo was taken out. Coach Budenholzer made the decision to put Antetokounmpo back in and Antetokounmpo went dunk, dunk and jumper.
“I was just trying to play with energy,” Antetokounmpo said.
That energy put the Bucks up by 18.
It was an impressive win, but one of the most interesting things happened off the court. During Bucks games, fans are tasked with outperforming a Bucks player during a 30 second window. The topics vary, but this particular topic was about how many states could the fan name compared to the Bucks player. Sterling Brown managed to name all 50 states in 30 seconds. There was no pattern to it either. He didn’t sing a song, he simply named all 50 states. The whole arena erupted afterwards.
After the game, the media proceeded to the conference room where Coach Budenholzer would give his post-game thoughts.
“Frustration channeled into great energy,” said Coach Budenholzer, commenting on the technical foul given to Antetokounmpo in the third quarter. “It reached a boiling point, and then [Antetokounmpo] moved on.”
Next, media moved into the locker room where Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton and Antetokounmpo all spoke with the media.
Regarding the playoffs, Bledsoe said, “We still got a long way to go.”
It was an incredible first experience for me, and I hope I can continue to cover Bucks games.
The Milwaukee Bucks will take on the Charlotte Hornets at 8:00 tonight at the Fiserv Forum. The Bucks are currently leading the Eastern Conference with 49 wins this season.